Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can expose a Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat administrator username and password to anyone who can reach its web interface. Those credentials could allow administrative access to the thermostat. The main business risk is unauthorized control or tampering with building environmental systems.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for any exposed Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat 1.7 devices. The vulnerability is simple to abuse, discloses administrator credentials, and affects operational technology adjacent to building controls.
Technical view
Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat version 1.7 exposes plaintext administrative credentials through the networkSetup.htm page without authentication. The issue is categorized as CWE-256 and scored CVSS 4.0 8.7 because it is network-reachable, low complexity, and requires no privileges or user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat devices running version 1.7, especially where the device web interface is reachable from the internet, guest networks, or broad internal networks.
Exploitation context
The source bundle cites ExploitDB and VulnCheck references, so public exploit information exists. The bundle does not identify CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Treat exposed devices as high risk because the flaw discloses admin credentials without authentication.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports credential disclosure from networkSetup.htm on Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat 1.7. Sources do not name a fixed version or vendor patch. Avoid assuming broader Heatmiser product impact without additional vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Check Heatmiser guidance for fixed firmware or vendor-supported remediation.
- Remove thermostat web interfaces from internet exposure.
- Restrict management access to trusted admin networks or VPN only.
- Rotate administrative credentials after exposure is contained.
- Segment building IoT devices from corporate and guest networks.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat devices and confirm firmware version 1.7.
- Verify the management interface is not reachable from untrusted networks.
- In an approved test, confirm credential-bearing configuration pages require authentication.
- Review access logs or network telemetry for unexpected thermostat web access.
- Confirm rotated credentials no longer appear in exposed configuration pages.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-256: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-25396 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.7 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N3.93.6VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.7HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- ExploitDB-45623CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- VulnCheck Advisory: Heatmiser Wifi Thermostat 1.7 Credential Disclosure via networkSetup.htmCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Plaintext Storage of a Password
Plaintext Storage of a Password represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.